UPTOWN — Before “Game Of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin wrote his first novel, he lived in a $150-a-month, three-bedroom apartment in Uptown.
Now, the unit at 932 W. Margate Terrace is for sale — and the realtor listing it is hosting a “Game of Thrones” themed open house Saturday.
According to Martin’s website, Martin and a rotating crew of four other starving artist friends squeezed into the Margate Terrace unit from 1971-1975, just after finishing graduate school at Northwestern.
“There was no way a bunch of guys just out of college could afford [the rent] without cramming,” he wrote.
Decades later, Martin’s apartment is a refurbished condo being listed for $354,900.
Michael Samm, Realtor with Keller Williams Chicago, said the property has been “very well maintained.”
“The owners and the building both take really great care of the property,” he said.
Samm said it “remains to be seen” how the ghost of Martin’s presence could affect the value of the property.
“Offering the background story of the condo gives it a lot of character and inspires a much deeper perspective into the property,” he said. “A lot of buyers are going to find value knowing that [Martin] lived there.”
Samm said he is still working out the details of the “Game of Thrones” open house, but he said there will be themed refreshments and possibly a colleague in costume.
The 1,800-square-foot condo has two bathrooms and comes with a parking spot, according to the listing.
The woodwork is still original but the condo now boasts new windows, light fixtures, an outdoor deck and a refurbished second bedroom, kitchen and laundry room.
When Martin lived there he said there was a lot of turnover and roommates would change so frequently “you would have thought the place had a revolving door.”
But Martin was a constant and the place was consistently frequented by musicians.
When they would host parties, visiting musicians would often ask Martin what instrument he played. To which he would respond, “the typewriter.”
Martin even met one of the loves of his life, Lisa Tuttle, while living at Margate Terrace. She ended up breaking his heart and marrying another man, but the two remain friends to this day.
Martin also became a regular at a “greasy spoon” called Don’s Grill on Argyle Street (the place has since closed), where he could get a full breakfast for $1.31, plus tax.
“It was the only restaurant I’ve ever eaten at where I could go in and order ‘the usual,'” he said.
And, unsurprising to Martin’s fans, he had cats — and lots of them.
“On Margate Terrace, cats dropped by almost as often as the musicians, and like the musicians they were always looking to be fed,” he wrote.
Eventually Martin would move to another Uptown apartment at 938 W. Argyle St., where he would meet his first wife. The marriage didn’t work out, but Martin writes fondly of his time spent in Uptown.
Check out the rest of these photos of Martin’s former residence below. All photos courtesy of VHT Studios:
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